Shifting Points
an incubation project for the next generation of
performing arts artists in Thailand, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting (BIPAM), in collaboration with Kyoto Experiment and The Japan Foundation proudly present “Shifting Points,” an incubation project for the next generation of performing arts artists in Thailand, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
“Shifting Points” is an incubation project intended to reflect the profound societal and cultural transformations since 2020, urging a re-discovery of our identities within our own contexts rather than through Western reproductions. By learning from each other and embracing the evolving ecosystem, “Shifting Points” invites us to explore new perspectives and navigate the shifting landscapes of art and society. It aims to engage with performing arts practitioners in Thailand, Japan, and Southeast Asia and their socio-cultural ecosystem, creating a collective learning experience that will result in a performative outcome.
BIPAM, Kyoto Experiment, and The Japan Foundation will select a group of emerging performance-making artists from different backgrounds to join a three-year incubation program. Applications are open to artists, art practitioners who create works that are related to performing arts based in Thailand, Southeast Asia, and Japan. In the final selection, a total of 6 participants will be selected from Thailand (2), Southeast Asia (2), and Japan (2). The program will be facilitated and advised by a facilitator and guest mentors.
[Participant qualification]
- Artists, art practitioners who create works that are related to performing arts based in Thailand, Southeast Asia, and Japan.
- Practitioners who are in search of a different inspiration or expansion to your practice
- Has a willingness to attempt to communicate in English. (We will have interpreters for in-depth sessions)
- No age restriction
- Is eager to…
- Take inspiration from field research
- Expand their practice into a deeper local and regional socio-political relevance
- Connect and exchange with other participants
- Selected participants are expected to create a report of the research (does not have to be a written report)
Final selection: Total of 6 participants from Thailand (2), Southeast Asia (2), and Japan (2).
[Schedule outline]
Phase 1 (2025)
- February: Online introductory sessions
- March (10-17): Onsite research, exchange, and idea development in Bangkok and BIPAM2025 with program mentors
- October: Onsite research, exchange, and idea development in Kyoto and Kyoto Experiment 2025 with program mentors
*The process may continue to phase 2 and 3 in Jan-March and October 2026 and March 2027.
(The application process will be renewed, and participants will also be reselected to suit each phase of the program.)
[How to apply]
Please fill out this form:
☞ Application form
Deadline: before 13 January 2025 (Monday), 23:59 (JP time).
[Selection procedure]
- Results from the document application screening will be sent to each applicant by 15th January. A number of applicants will be invited for an online interview with the organizers.
- The online interview will be conducted during 15 – 22 January.
- Final participants’ selection will be announced by the end of January.
Selected participants will receive travel (domestic and international transportation), accommodation, travel insurance, and per diem (1,500THB per day for Bangkok period) support for each on-site activities.
[Facilitator & Mentors]
Yuya Tsukahara (Facilitator)
After graduating with a master’s degree in Aesthetics and Art Studies from Kwansei Gakuin University, he joined NPO DANCEBOX as a volunteer and later became a staff member. In 2006, he began activities as an artist as a member of the performance group contact Gonzo. In 2020, he received the Best staff award at the Yomiuri Theater Awards for his scenography and choreography in the theater work Pratthana – A Portrait of Possession. In recent years, he has been involved in various mentoring projects and university lectures to cultivate artists in the younger generation. Yuya is currently one of the co-directors of Kyoto Experiment.
June Tan (Mentor)
June Tan is a producer, scriptwriter and member of the arts collective Five Arts Centre based in Kuala Lumpur. She studied Biology at Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine and worked in the corporate world while stage-managing, tour-managing and producing numerous arts productions.
From 2018-2020 June was Director for TPAM in Yokohama, a platform reflecting contemporary thinking in Asia. She is active in ReformARTsi, a grassroots coalition seeking arts policy change and also in environmental activism with Gabungan Darurat Iklim Malaysia. June has written for film (Interchange, Spilt Gravy, Budak Flat, Housekeeping?) and also for numerous platforms in Southeast Asia (Astro, MediaCorp, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Viu Malaysia)
Helly Minarti (Mentor)
Helly Minarti is a Jakarta-born who relocated to Yogyakarta in late 2018 and continues working as an independent curator/dramaturg/scholar in the field of contemporary performance. She attempts to align her politics/practice of the arts by rethinking radical strategies to connect it with theory grounded in the experiential as well as historical. Applying curating-as-research, one of her core interests is looking at the historiographies of choreography as discursive practice vis-á-vis the eclectic knowledge that infuses the understanding of human body, consciousness and nature. She has co-curated a number of festivals and co-facilitated artistic platforms. Her most recent curatorial projects include Jejak-旅Tabi Exchange: Wandering Asian Contemporary Performance (2018-2021) in four Asian cities and The Sea Within, being the first to do Cruising of Taipei Arts Festival, a curator residency.
BIPAM
BIPAM (Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting) is a platform dedicated to fostering connections, dialogue, and collaboration within the performing arts community in Thailand, Southeast Asia and connecting thAem to the broader worldwide regions. It serves as a space for networking among artists, producers, curators, and cultural organizations, offering opportunities to showcase contemporary performing arts, exchange ideas, and develop regional and international partnerships. BIPAM also focuses on nurturing emerging talents and creating a dynamic environment for exploring socio-political and cultural issues through artistic expression.
https://www.bipam.org/
Kyoto Experiment
Kyoto Experiment is a performing arts festival held in Kyoto since 2010. Dedicated to producing and presenting experimental performing arts—both from Japan and overseas— the festival aims to explore and create new dialogues and values in society. Featuring experimental works that move freely between genres such as theater, dance, music and fine art, the festival hopes to open up new possibilities through the creations, experiences, and ideas that emerge from such a diverse combination.
https://kyoto-ex.jp/en/
For inquiries:
pointsshifting@gmail.com (TH, JP, EN)
